Improvement in locks



AM. PHOTO-LITRO. CU. NA Y (OSBUHNE'S PROCESS.)

UNITED STA-'TES PATENT OFFICE.

L. F. MUNGER, OF LE ROY, NEV YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN LOCKS.

, Y Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 17,804, dated July 14, 1857.

i T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, L. F. MUNGER, of Le Roy, in the county of Genesee and State of New York, have made and invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locks, of which the following is a full and accurate description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this speci- Iication, and to the letters ot' reference marked thereon, same letters referring to like parts in all the figures,

The nature of this invention consists in certain improved means of effecting those changes in apermutation-lock which are necessary either to allow or prevent the bolts being thrown, and will be more fully understood from a detailed description of the several parts of the lock and their mode of action.

On referring to the drawings, there will be seen B, the bolt of the lock; k, the bit of the stationary key which throws said bolt back and forth, and S, Fig. 5, the tumbler, which prevents the movement of the bolt B by means ofthe projections x' x, which interlock vwith similar indentations y y on the bolt.

This tumbler is guided vertically by the proj ections s s s, and is constantly forced down by the spring l), acting through the lever P. This lever turns upon a pin at its center of motion which passes through the bolt B, as seen in Fig. The action of the key is such, however, as to raise this tumbler S (if nothing prevent) before acting on the bolt, thus leaving the bolt free to move back and forth; but the tumbler S has affixed to it a tongue q, which its into the slot t of the wheels V (of which there are three in the sample shown in the drawings.) If, then, the slots in the three wheels V should all coincide and lie vertically over the tongue q attached to the tumbler S, it is evident that said tumbler might be raised by the action of the key K; but if these slots should not all coincide with the line of q, then the tumbler could not be raised, and consequently the lock could not be opened.

other set WV, as will be seen from Fig. 3, and the top (seen on Sheet 2) and these two sets maybe thrown into and out of gear with each other by means of the eccentric-arbor r, constructed as shown in Figs. 3 and 6. This arbor has a square end (opposite to that seen in Figs. 3 and 6) by which it may be turned bya key fitting thereon, and when turned the whole is held in position by means of the pawl d catching into the notches in the disk O, Fig. l. Two of the wheels W are tted loosely onto the arbor K, but are prevented from moving freely by means of the pawls i, a projection on which drops into the toothspaces of said wheels whenever they are in' proper position to allow of it. The third wheel is attached to the friction-clutch C a l), Fig. 1, which attaches it to the arbor K with sufficient force to move all the other wheels, while at the saine time if any of the wheels should get caught-as, for instance, by the tongue q-the. arbor might be turned round without any danger of breaking the teeth of the wheels. Each of these wheels W has a pin projecting from its side (n, Figs. 2 and 3, and Sheet 2,) and so placed as to interlock with similar pins in the wheels next to it, the middle wheels having thus, of course, a pin von each side. By means of these pins all the `without affecting the one next'beyond it.

Such being the general construction and I arrangement of the parts just described, the mode of operation is as follows: First, if we have the slots t in proper position, but desire to change t-he relative positions of the wheels V in relation to the wheels V, to themselves, and to the index, Fig. et, so as to prevent any person but one who knows these positions from opening the lock, having first thrown the wheels V out of gear by means of the eccentric-arbor r, we turn the arbor K round until by means of the projecting pins on the several wheels XV all these wheels are caused to revolve. lVe then bring the index or pointer on this arbor opposite any point on the graduated ring within which it moves, and note its position, and then, reversing the direction of the motion of the arbor K, carry it round one com plete revolution, and as much more as may be desired, and then note the ligure opposite to which the index on the arbor stands. Again reverse the motion of the arbor (beware, however, that it be not carried round a full revolution) and again note the position of the index, as before. It now the wheels V be thrown into gear with the Wheels W, it is evident that they will still be in a position to allow of the lock being opened, and since they are the same size and pitch as the Wheels XV, though the latter be turned round ever so much (and with them the wheels V) still the Whole can at any time be brought into their original position by repeating the process above described, for as each individual wheel is thus brought into position of course the whole must be, and thus the lock may be opened. The second conditionv in which it may be desi-red to form a new combination,7 as it is tern1ed,is'whe`n a combination has been formed (either by accident or design) of the nature of which we are ignorant, a circumstance which can arise only when the door is open and the lock exposed. To meet this, however, the following process has been devised: The slotst having been broughty into propel' position to receive the i tongue q, a hole is bored through the inner plate of the lock and through all the wheels XV. If, then, the combination be at any time lost, all that is necessary is to insert a pin on, Sheet 2, through' the hole in the innerplate of the lock and press it against the wheel V, while this is slowly revolved. The pin will ofcourse drop into the hole in the first Wheel. Reverse the motion and it may be inserted into the second, and by again reversing the motion the third wheel may now be caught. It is obvious that the bolt may now be thrown and a new combination produced, as previously explained.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim therein asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of the wheels V with the arbor K, in the manner substantially as descri-bed, said wheels being retained in position and imparting motion to each other, in the manner substantially as set forth.

L. F. MUNGER.

Witnesses:

JOHN PLIN, JAMES M. McCoNE. 

